Amanda Brown celebrated her 10th season at NSU in 2015-16. During her tenure, the Sharks have achieved unprecedented success: four straight NCAA National Championships, four South Region Championships, four Sunshine State Conference Championships, five NCAA National Player of the Year awards, four National Freshmen of the Year awards, 23 NCAA All-Americans, 40 team tournament wins, and 33 individual tournament wins.
This past season, with the Sharks' competing quintet made up of primarily freshmen and sophomores, Brown's squad won the Super South Regional, was runner-up at the SSC Championship, and wrapped the year with a third-place showing at the NCAA DII National Championship. First-year Aldana Foigel was chosen as First Team All-American; she and sophomore Jamie Freedman were All-South Region; and another freshman, Sophie Madden, joined Freedman as Honorable Mention All-American.
During the regular season, the team took the title at the Peggy Kirk Bell Invitational in addition to placing fifth or better in all but one event. They were fifth at the Bearcats Spring Classic, against a field of Division I teams, defeating nine of them and 12 teams overall.
Brown led the 2014-15 squad to a fifth-place finish at the DII National Championship, after a third-place showing at the previous week's Super South Regional. They had three regular season wins and two runner-up finishes as well.
Two Sharks -- Lilian Cammisa and Mailen Domecq Chantry -- earned All-American status, while two more -- Cammisa and Freedman -- were NCAA Scholar All-Americans. In addition, Freedman was honored with the national Kim Moore Spirit Award at the WGCA DII Awards Banquet, and Cammisa was named All-SSC.
In 2013-14, the Sharks posted another NCAA Super Region Tournament appearance and three top-three team finishes, including first at the Lady Bucs Invitational and tying for third at the SSC Championships. Junior Daniela Ortiz was medalist at the Dennis Rose Invitational, had six top-10 finishes and was named WGCA Second Team All-American.
In the 2012-13 season, four Sharks were named WGCA first-team Division II All-Americans, which is the most first-team selections on one team in WGCA history. Junior Liliana Cammisa claimed the SSC individual title, while freshman Linnea Johansson was selected as both SSC Player and Freshman of the Year. Overall, the Sharks collected six team and five individual tournament titles, including finishing second overall at the NCAA DII National Championship.
Brown was also selected as the CaptainU National Coach of the Year, the Division II Eaton Golf Pride WGCA National Coach of the Year and South Region Coach of the Year in 2013.
In her first season as the head coach of the NSU women's golf program, in 2011-12, Brown led the Sharks to their fourth consecutive NCAA DII National Championship. NSU won the title by 20 strokes. Under Brown's leadership, junior Abbey Gittings, the No. 1 player in the nation, captured the individual national title. Gittings, Cammisa and Daniela Ortiz were all selected as first-team All-Americans, with Gittings picking up National Player of the Year honors and Cammisa claiming Freshman of the Year.
Before being named head coach in 2011, Brown was associate head coach for one year and assistant coach for five years. Prior to joining NSU's athletic staff, Brown trained to be a golf instructor among some of the nation's best at the top-ranked Jim McLean Golf School, located at the Doral Golf Resort & Spa in Miami. Shortly after her training, she instructed as a master instructor at the Jim McLean Golf Academy in Weston, Fla. She was also recently Trackman Level 1 and Level 2 certified.
During her four years as a member of the NSU women's golf team (2001-2005), Brown won two individual titles, was selected as an NAIA All-American and was a two-time Academic All-American. She was also nominated for NSU's Female Athlete of the Year for her athletic performance, leadership, and service to the community. After its entrance into the NCAA in 2003, the NSU women's golf team was immediately ranked in the nation's top 10 and made three consecutive appearances to the NCAA South Regional tournament. Brown also served as the Editor-in-Chief for the NSU's university-wide newspaper The Current (formerly The Knight) and on the staff of NSU's Literary Magazine Digressions.
A native of Tampa, Fla., Brown graduated from NSU in 2005 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and then graduated with a Master of Arts degree in writing in 2010.
